Homecoming

He felt like his heart had been shoved ruthlessly into his throat as he surveyed the village. It barely held semblance to anything more than rubble. Roofs were caved in; the ground had been serrated against itself, uneven and gouged along its rims.

"You needn't worry yet," Ganondorf, strangely, reassured from behind him. "It's only been golems thus far. That much Zelda and I can, and have, held at bay. It looks bad, perhaps, but no one's really been hurt. It's for what comes next that we need the two of you."

He was startled, almost alarmed, by Zelda's hand on his shoulder.

"We'll leave you to your personal business for now, so we can prepare the rest of our forces. We will offer what we have left to help, but when the next attack comes, whatever we muster will most likely be nothing but distracting fodder."

Everything is up to you, she didn't have to say.

Zelda's fingers ghosted past Link's shoulders as the two leaders left them; vanished as if they were wisps of the dead.

Midna looked at him, lips pursed. Reached down and tangled their fingers.

"Let's go," she whispered.

So they did.

She had made to brush aside a blonde, unruly strand from across her eyes, but froze midway.

The pot of water she had been carrying shattered against the gravel floor.

Link smiled part sheepishly, part dreadfully, part lovingly, and everything in between.

"Hey," his voice trembled. "I…I…"

When Aryll punched him, it took him by surprise. Not because of the punch itself – he deserved that and so much more and thus saw it coming before he even stepped foot in Outset – but because of how much force it carried.

Aryll's anger radiated power, yet when he last left her as a little girl, she was untarnished sweetness incarnate.

"A-Aryll, I know you must be…must be furious…" he attempted as he touched a hand to his rapidly swelling cheek.

"You come back," her voice was low, deadly, seething but controlled, if barely. "After years and years of not a single breath of your whereabouts and only, let me guess, because of the mess we're in-"

"I know," he tried again. "You have every right to…to hate me with every fiber of your being, to want me dead, I'm the reason mom and dad and so many others are gone-"

"You think that's what this is about?" she hissed. "We could've talked it through, we would have, I know you better than anyone! But you left. You left us without a word before we could even try!"

He stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to offer anything.

"You weren't here for Grandma's funeral," Aryll told him solemnly, as his head shot up, eyes wide with shocked despair. "She didn't get to see your face one last time, even though that's all she wanted."

"Aryll," he clenched and unclenched his fists, at a loss. "I can't…I don't even know where to begin…"

But she launched herself at him and flung her arms around his neck, and her body broke down in sobs that swept his pace up in hers, racked his frame just as they did hers, and it was the last thing he expected.

But he gazed at her, saw her lower lip tremble, saw her eyes shimmer, wide and fathomless and pure, and no matter how things were or changed, she was that same girl again, innocence immovable.

"Stupid brother," she whispered. "I missed you so…so much. So much."

And oh, he knew. He knew how little he deserved it, but Aryll was Aryll, and she had forgiven him so instantly and the tears couldn't help themselves.

"I'm sorry, Aryll," he said as he held her tighter. "I love you."

"You always were a crybaby," Aryll smiled, even as her own cheeks were wet.

"Tell me about it," Midna finally interjected with a smile of her own.

Aryll swiveled to her with wide eyes.

"Oh, please excuse my rudeness, I didn't realize – Oh my god. You're…a girl."

"Uh. Last I checked," Midna raised a brow.

"Brother brought home a girl?" Aryll gaped, letting go of Link and nearly squealing with ill-concealed glee. "Are you his girlfriend?! Please say yes."

"What?" Midna blushed. "No, of course n-"

She paused.

"Well," she amended after a moment of contemplation. "I mean…sort of? I guess the issue never really came up."

This time Aryll really did squeal.

Link, also blushing, laughed quietly nonetheless.

"Sorry I took so long, 'Sis."

And Aryll grinned so wide her jaw threatened to split apart at the seams. She happily tasted salt.

"Welcome home, you moron."

Author's Note: Is that enough fluff for you insatiable monkeys?! Felt weirdly rushed towards the end, but I figure you guys are too busy letting Aryll give you diabetes to care. More to come!